double-take

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

tights at 10 and 25

When I was a little girl, tights ("pantyhose," as I knew them back then) were the bane of my winter existence. I was forced to wear them in church plays and for family photos and every freaking Sunday throughout winter. To me, they were one more thing that got in the way of running around outside with my friends; they were itchy and binding and too fragile for the active lifestyle of my adolescence. I remember my mom washing her many pairs of varied neutral hues in the sink before hanging them over the shower rod, and I can recall that every trip through JCPenney required a stop in the stocking department. When I was 10, tights were just a necessary evil in a woman's life.

A decade and a half later, tights and I have a better understanding of one another. I've realized that they're a delicate alternative to pants, a colorful tool for keeping my legs warm and stylish through the colder months, and a semi-disposable and inexpensive accessory with which I can add variation and creativity to my wardrobe. They really aren't even that itchy or uncomfortable (unless the office heater is set too high.) These fuchsia* tights were a cheap score last year when the weather began to warm up and Target purged their cold-weather accessories. I think they may have cost $3 at the most and they've held up pretty well. I know you're supposed to buy quality over cost but come on, who really has the cash to blow on $25 tights? That said, I do often buy multiples of my favorite colors when they're on sale because inevitably they'll snag when I'm miles away from the nearest bottle of clear polish.

Thanks to EBEW for giving me a reason to talk about tights for a whole post.

*I googled whether the hue is called fuschia or fuchsia and it turns out both forms are accurate but technically, the term comes from Leonard Fuchs, the German scientist who labeled the flower of the namesake plant, so officially I suppose it's fuchsia. Hm.

24 comments:

You are too adorable, as usual. I pored over the internet for help with my EBEW outfit, and as I figured your blog was super helpful! I love all of your outfits with bright tights, it always looks so cute! Check out my take on colored tights if you're interested :)

I used to feel the same way about tights as a child. In high school, I was little overboard with tights. Now, we are in a happy medium together. I love your fuschia (interesting sidenote btw) tights and the pairing with the leopard!

Awesome look and post. I used to hate tights something awful when I was little too. The bane of winter days because it wasn't just weekends, tights went with skirts and trousers alike or else I might catch cold. Woolie hot itch. :)

Mind you, I get envious of children's tights nowadays. All those rainbow stripes and stars and polka dots - I would totally buy those in an adult size :D

Love it! I wore these same tights for EBEW--I think I purchased them for all of $5, myself. Amusingly enough, they've held up way better than the $13 pairs I bought from We <3 Colors, go figure. (I matched the tights to my top, too. I love how you did yours!)

High quality tights can be really worth it, but instead of spending a ton of money on them, stalk your local TJ Maxx/Ross/Marshalls. I've found Hue and Nine West tights there for cheaper than normal Target tights!

Your childhood relationship to tights mirrors mine almost exactly, as does your adult one. I love tights. I love being able to catch really high quality tights on sale for less than $10 at Kohls and Nordstrom Rack. It's the best of both worlds.

You look ravishing in one of my favorite colors. I feel you on the tights front, by the way. Did you grow up down there in the south, or did you grow up where the winter weather was even more brutal?

I inadvertently SHRED all tights. I don't know if it's my rings, my clumsiness, the fact that I never, ever file my nails, or all of the above, but I can put a run in anything. I've been experimenting this year with some "investment" tights in the hopes they'll last more than 3 wearings, and so far the E.G. Smith Bamboo tights haven't died yet.

But I'd buy those gorgeous fuchsia babies in a heartbeat. And then destroy them.

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